Posts Tagged ‘Spain’
Written by admin on 09 May 2012
Madrid, May 9 (IANS) FC Barcelona defender Carlos Puyol Wednesday conceded that he won’t recover from his knee injury in time to represent defending champions Spain in the Euro 2012 Football Championships.
Puyol will have an operation on his right knee Saturday and the estimated six weeks recovery time means he will not be fit to help Spain defend their title in the competition which kicks off June 8 in Poland and Ukraine.
“I think it is complicated, I have to wait and see what the doctors say, but I think it is impossible and there will be other players who are in better shape than I am and it would not be fair to take someone who is not 100 percent fit,” Puyol was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
The 34 year-old suffered knee problems last season and has struggled for fitness during the current campaign. Puyol said he was surprised at the injury, which he first noticed after last Saturday’s 4-0 win against Espanyol.
“I didn’t have any problems, but at the end of the game, I felt something in the back of my knee. I rested Sunday and Monday I underwent tests after which the doctors told me the best thing was an operation,” he explained.
Puyol has made 99 appearances for Spain and the injury raises the question as to whether or not he will continue his international career after the summer.
The defender had previously considered retiring from international football after the 2010 World Cup, but was persuaded to continue by Spain coach Vicente del Bosque.
“If afterwards I can reach 100 caps then I would be delighted. I will see how I recover and then I will speak to the coaches. I want to retire on a football pitch and not in an operating theatre,” said Puyol.
Tags: Madrid, Spain
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Written by admin on 09 May 2012
Barcelona, May 9 (IANS) Sahara Force India driver Paul di Resta says the team needs to work extensively on the car in the practice sessions of the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix to get it in top shape for Sunday’s race.
Force India lost a substantial amount of track time during the mid-season test in Mugello, Italy, last week after hydraulic issues with the car. The rain on the opening day of the test also hampered preparations of most teams.
Di Resta, who recorded his best result of the season by coming sixth in the Bahrain Grand Prix, said there was lot of work to do before the race.
“(After the Mugello test) There is still plenty of work to do in free practice to get on top of the car, but we have already done the basic checks,” di Resta said in a release.
“I probably know Barcelona better than any other track on the calendar. We did two tests there in the winter and I had four days in the car so I already feel quite well prepared, but it is the same for everyone. I expect the field to be incredibly close once again.”
The Scot’s teammate Nico Hulkenberg rated Circuit de Catalunya here as a tough one.
“It is a track I enjoy and where I have been successful in the past. It is high-speed, there are lots of right hand corners and it is quite tough physically, especially on your neck,” said the German.
Force India are eighth in the Constructors’ Championship with 17 points from four races.
Tags: Barcelona, Spain
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Written by admin on 09 May 2012
Barcelona, May 9 (IANS) HRT reserve driver Dani Clos will replace Narain Karthikeyan for Friday’s opening practice session of the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix.
Spanish driver Clos will step into the F112 for the first time after having completed 377.67 kilometres at the helm of HRT’s 2011 car in the Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi last November and having joined the team as a reserve in February.
The 23-year-old will take the place of Indian teammate Karthikeyan for the first 90 minutes of practice at the Circuit de Catalunya. Karthikeyan will take over from Clos for the second session ahead of the third practice and qualifying Saturday and the race Sunday.
“I am delighted to have this opportunity. It is something I have fought for all my life; to make my debut in Formula 1 and, above all, to be able to do it at the home race which is something very special for me,” said Clos.
“I am extremely lucky to be able to do it with a Spanish team, alongside another Spanish driver (Pedro de la Rosa) who I admire.
“I hope to extract a lot of data from this practice session, contribute with positive things to the team and do my job in the best way I can,” he added.
Tags: Barcelona, Spain
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Written by admin on 09 May 2012
Madrid, May 9 (IANS) Top seed Novak Djokovic overcame the loss of the second set against Spanish qualifier Daneil Gimero-Traver to qualify for the last 16 of the Mutua Madrid Open tennis.
The Serb also had to overcome some problems with the court and was visibly annoyed after slipping twice on the controversial blue clay surface, before powering his way toa 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 victory Tuesday, reports Xinhua.
Local favourite Feliciano Lopez, seeded 13th, was unable to give the Madrid fans much to cheer about as he lost in three sets 6-3, 6-7, 4-6 to Jurgen Melzer, with the beaten clay doing little to favour the big-serving Spaniard.
Tomas Berdych, seeded sixth, had a straightforward 6-4, 6-3 win over Kevin Anderson.
Former finalist David Nalbandian lost 4-6, 4-6, to Canadian Milos Raonic while Radic Stepanek enjoyed a straight sets triumph against Australian, Bernard Tomic. Stepanek will now face Spain’s number five seed David Ferrer in.
Number 12 seed Gael Monfils had to work for a three-set triumph over Philipp Kohlschrebber 5-7, 7-6, 6-3 in a match where the Frenchman only showed his superiority in the final set.
Spain’s Fernando Verdasco, seeded 15, progressed, defeating Denis Istomin 7-5, 6-2, while Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka booked his place in the last 32 after a 6-4, 6-7 victory against Oliver Rochus.
First Round: Federico Delbonis (Argentina) bt Albert Ramos (Spain) 6-3, 6-2; Radek Stepanek (Czech Republic) bt Bernard Tomic (Australia) 6-2, 7-5; Mario Cilic (Croatia) bt Albert Montanes (Spain) 6-3, 6-3; Andreas Seppi (Italy) bt Michael Llodra (France) 7-5, 6-4; Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) bt Olivier Rochus (Belgium) 6-4, 7-6 (7-3); 16-Alexandr Dolgopolov (Ukraine) bt Pablo Andujar (Spain), 7-6 (7-5), 6-4; 9-Gilles Simon (France) bt Fabio Fognini (Italy) 6-7 (1-7), 6-3, 6-3;10-Juan Martin del Potro (Argentina) bt Florian Mayer (Germany) 6-4, 6-2;12-Gael Monfils (France) bt Philipp Kohlschreiber (Germany) 7-5, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3;15-Fernando Verdasco (Spain) bt Denis Istomin (Uzbekistan) 7-5, 6-2; Jurgen Melzer (Austria) bt 13-Feliciano Lopez (Spain) 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4; Milos Raonic (Canada) bt David Nalbandian (Argentina) 6-4, 6-4; Marcel Granollers (Spain) bt Carlos Berlocq (Argentina) 7-5, 3-6, 7-5; 14-Richard Gasquet (France) bt Thomaz Bellucci, Brazil, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5).
Second Round: 6-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) bt Kevin Anderson, (South Africa) 6-4, 6-3; 1-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) bt Daniel Gimeno-Traver (Spain) 6-2, 2-6, 6-3.
Tags: Madrid, Spain
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Written by admin on 08 May 2012
Madrid, May 8 (IANS) Sania Mirza and Anastasia Rodionova lost to Anna Lena Gronefeld and Shuai Zhang in the women’s doubles first round at the Madrid Open tennis event here.
The sixth seeded Indo-Australian duo lost 3-6, 2-6 to their German-Chinese rival duo Monday in the tournament played on clay.
Sania-Rodionova failed to convert five break points, losing the match in less than an hour.
Tags: Madrid, Spain
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Written by admin on 08 May 2012
Madrid, May 8 (IANS) Spanish La Liga football club Valencia announced that former defender Mauricio Pellegrino will be their new coach for the next two seasons.
The decision which was announced by Valencia President, Manuel Llorente puts an end to rumours over the future of current coach Unai Emery, who will leave Valencia at the end of the season after four successful seasons in charge.
Valencia have finished third behind FC Barcelona and Real Madrid for the past two seasons and Saturday’s 1-0 win over Villarreal assured they will again finish third in the season which also saw Valencia reach the semifinals of the Europa League and Copa del Rey.
Forty-year-old Pellegrino spent six successful seasons as a player at Valencia after moving to Spain to join Barcelona. When he retired he joined the backroom staff at the club, before joining Liverpool where he worked as assistant to Rafael Benitez, with whom he won two league titles and the UEFA Cup.
He moved with Benitez to Inter Milan in the summer of 2010 and left the club with the Spaniard when Benitez was sacked in December of the same year.
The former Argentinean international faces a difficult job in following Emery, given that Valencia have had to sell key players, such as David Villa, David Silva and Juan Mata in recent years to help clear their large debt, while the club is known for having some of the most demanding fans in Spain.
Emery, meanwhile, has been linked with a possible move to Russian side Spartak Moscow, although nothing has been confirmed.
Tags: Madrid, Spain
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